Satellite Symposium 5: Molecular Breeding

Description

Plant cuticular waxes play an important role in protecting aerial organs from damage caused by multiple environmental stresses such as drought, cold, UV radiation, pathogen infection and insect attack. The identification of leaf wax genes involved in stress tolerance is expected to have great potential for crop improvement. Cuticular waxes are complex mixtures of very long chain fatty acids, alkanes, primary and/or secondary alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, triterpenes, sterols and flavonoids. Mutant analysis in Arabidopsis has contributed to the identification of the components and genes involved in wax deposition. However, no information is available on the effects of overexpression of these genes in crops of agronomic importance. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is the most important forage legume species in the world and a close relative of Medicago truncatula.

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Increased Cuticular Wax Accumulation and Enhanced Drought Tolerance in Transgenic Alfalfa by Overexpression of a Transcription Factor Gene

Plant cuticular waxes play an important role in protecting aerial organs from damage caused by multiple environmental stresses such as drought, cold, UV radiation, pathogen infection and insect attack. The identification of leaf wax genes involved in stress tolerance is expected to have great potential for crop improvement. Cuticular waxes are complex mixtures of very long chain fatty acids, alkanes, primary and/or secondary alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, triterpenes, sterols and flavonoids. Mutant analysis in Arabidopsis has contributed to the identification of the components and genes involved in wax deposition. However, no information is available on the effects of overexpression of these genes in crops of agronomic importance. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is the most important forage legume species in the world and a close relative of Medicago truncatula.